Missed Me?
by klipdoctor
Summary: Set three years after the series, what happens when a relief mission to a flood-hit African country goes all Pete Tong? A short story set in the Captain's Log universe. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Our Girl. All rights belong to Tony Grounds and the BBC.**

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><p><strong>Missed me?<strong>

"Shit!" Corporal Paul Rogers, also known to a select number of fellow NCOs but never to the soldiers under his command, unless they wanted to see lots of latrine duty in their future, as Dangleberries, looked down the ravine at the wrecked Land Rover half submerged in the raging torrent. Well, this was a complete clusterfuck!

They had only been deployed in Sierra Leone for three days and it was already a complete mess. The British Army had reacted to a massive humanitarian emergency when the West African country, still struggling to come to terms with the mammoth Ebola outbreak nearly three years ago, had succumbed to one of the worst wet seasons ever recorded. The Government had asked the Armed Forces to send some support and they had responded by sending a 600 man mission including helicopters, medical personnel and several companies of soldiers to spread out through the country and support the medics.

Unfortunately nobody had quite sussed out that one of the things you couldn't do in heavy storms, was operate helicopters. The other thing that clearly hadn't been anticipated was that heavy and thundery rainstorms tend to disrupt radio communications and fell telephone lines. And another thing was that tracked vehicles beat wheeled vehicles on unsafe ground. As a result, Dangles' understrength platoon was driving upcountry on some of the worst roads and tracks he'd ever travelled on, in 4x4s and trucks that were clearly inadequate for the task, to try and reach one of the most important medical centres which was in the north of the country. To be fair, it had been fine on the main road, but since they had come off, it was really ropey.

A small group of British army medics had managed to get to the med centre by chopper two days ago before the weather had closed in, but radioed back that the centre was inundated with casualties and that medical supplies were short, and asked for urgent re-supply and additional personnel. Since then no helicopter resupply had been possible and there had been no further radio contact as the weather closed in. HQ had ordered Dangles' CO to take two sections and drive there.

Unfortunately Dangles' CO, an arrogant and spiky lieutenant who had never heard a gun fired in anger and was a far cry from most of the Afghanistan veteran officers that Dangles had served with, reckoned he was Lewis Hamilton and, instead of letting the experienced driver take control of their 4x4, had insisted on driving himself. He had promptly driven over the washed-away bridge section way too fast to brake in the conditions and managed to wreck his vehicle and himself. Even more serious was that Sergeant White had been in the vehicle with him, and the sergeant was an experienced Afghanistan combat veteran who really did know his stuff and was an excellent NCO and platoon sergeant. In addition, their only combat medic, Jeff Smith, was also in that vehicle. While they had managed to get all the men and the displaced driver out of the wrecked Land Rover, they were all in a bad way and needed urgent medical attention.

And that left Dangles in command, by date of rank, and in a real pickle. There was no contact with base because the radios were fucked. The last communication they'd had was that the bridge they'd come over 10km down the road was breaking up, so they were trapped here, and there was no helicopter support and three badly injured men. He stood staring at the wrecked Land Rover while the rain (at least it was warm, not cold) drove against him and dripped off his helmet and down his neck, wondering what to do.

He was aware of another vehicle pulling up next to the platoon's truck. He looked briefly over his shoulder and saw a Toyota Land Cruiser with "International Red Cross" and the famous painted red cross on the doors. _At least the NGOs got good equipment_, he mused, jogging over to the new arrivals. _Probably because they were here all the time and knew what worked. The Land Cruiser was masses better than the Land Rover for this sort of terrain_. A man got out wearing waterproof khaki trousers, hiking boots and a blue Gore tex waterproof, also marked with a red cross on the back. He pulled up his hood to protect him from the rain and spoke to the soldier by the truck, who gestured to Dangleberries, and then walked over to him.

"Corporal Paul Rogers, 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment" Dangles introduced himself, saluting, a little bit surprised when the man seemed to jerk back. "I'm really glad you're here. Do you have any medics? We have three seriously injured men."

He was even more surprised when the man asked, "Paul Rogers? Also known as Dangleberries?"

"Well, yes," he replied hesitantly and was absolutely shocked when the man replied, "Bloody Hell, standards must be slipping in the Army if they made you a Corporal! It's a good thing I left!" He stripped back his hood to reveal a face that Dangleberries hadn't seen in a long time, but one that he had never been more happy to see.

"Boss? Captain James? God, what are you doing here? It's so good to see you" he spluttered out.

"It's just Mr James now, Dangles. I'm Head of Disaster Emergency Relief for the International Red Cross. It keeps me out in the field and doing worthwhile things. But let's catch up later. You said you had injured men?"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Captain James, no "Charles", as he had instructed Dangles to call him, listened to the report from the Red Cross doctor, who he had briefly introduced as Francois, and turned to face him. "It's not looking good for your lieutenant or the sergeant I'm afraid. Francois says that if we can't get them to medical attention PDQ they could die."

Dangles considered that but came up with no answers, "but what can we do? With the bridges down there's nowhere we can get them in time and if we try to carry them up into the hills surely the trauma will kill them?"

Charles replied, "There's a big iron ore mine a few kilometres back up the road. We've been staging out of there. They have a good medical centre and established communications. We'll take your injured back there and you can check in with higher and get fresh orders."

Dangles was stunned and Charles look at him in shock, "You didn't know? What kind of intelligence and logistics support structure have you got? That's crap! They've even got a railway which would have saved your suspension quite a bit. I mean I assume you've driven all the way from Freetown?" Dangles could only shake his head and Charles continued, "Come on, let's get these guys out of here and up to the mine."

Later, at the mine, Dangles was able to contact HQ in Freetown and speak to the Major, who listened to his report and said he would get back once he consulted with higher. As good as his word the Major was back within 20 minutes with a lieutenant colonel who introduced himself as Beck. Dangles wondered if it could be the same Beck who had been their major in the Under Fives. The colonel requested that Charles be summoned and when Charles came in and had the situation explained, he introduced himself as Roger Beck. Charles grinned, and confirmed Dangles' suspicion by exclaiming, "If I'd known it was going to be old comrades week sir I would have brought a bottle! First Corporal Rogers, and then you!" to which the Colonel replied, "Well let's share one when we get this all wrapped up." Then he was all business, "Charles, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I believe our team and your team are going to the same place. We can't get any command level officers out to you until the weather improves but the hospital needs medical supplies urgently. Would you consent for us to recall you to active duty for the duration of this current emergency until we can get a command officer up to relieve you? Then you can command both teams. We understand that you have an important role for the Red Cross and we certainly wouldn't want to interfere with that, but we need an officer to command the team as we have only relatively junior NCOs."

Charles seemed to think it over for a moment, and then agreed, but "only for a few days sir and you'll have to deal with the fact I don't have my uniform!" They discussed logistics for a few minutes and then the Colonel asked if Dangles heard and please to confirm that Major James had taken over as his senior officer. Dangles was happy to confirm and they signed off.

"So Dangles, it looks like it's back to "Major" for the time being!" observed Charles, "we should probably go and tell the men."

Dangles asked Corporal Turner to call the two sections together and brought them to attention in the mine's conference suite. Charles was standing in the corner. Dangles told the men to stand at ease, "Boys, as you know the Lieutenant and Sergeant have been incapacitated. I'm told by the doctors here that they should be OK. As you also know, we cannot drive to the medical centre as previously intended. I have spoken to HQ in Freetown and they have ordered us to proceed on foot, carrying as many supplies as possible. They have asked Major James here to take command of the mission. Major James is an emergency disaster relief co-ordinator for the International Red Cross, he is also an Army Reserve Major and an Afghanistan veteran with four tours under his belt. In fact he was my first company commander. We couldn't ask for a better commander."

With that he stood to the side and Major James walked up and took over. "I understand that the circumstances are less than ideal but let's just do the best we can with what we've got. OK? The situation at the Buluna medical centre is critical. There are hundreds of casualties and only one local GP and three British Army combat medics with minimal supplies. In fact, they could have run out by now. It could be several days before the weather opens up and from the sounds of things they don't have that long.

"I'll need everybody to cut down their normal equipment and take as much of the medical equipment as we can. We don't expect to be actively engaged, so only take 2 spare clips of ammo and we'll leave two of the bigger machine guns altogether. Leave out all other non-essential equipment, but make sure you hold onto all your rations and your water purification equipment, as well as insect repellent, mosquito nets et al.

"It's an 18km walk which normally would only take a few hours but could take a lot longer because of the conditions. It's mostly rolling grasslands with not too much thick rain forest but it will be heavy going. Keep an eye out for wildlife. Paths and roads are unsealed and are likely to have been washed away in places but we'll try and stay on them as much as possible." He looked at his watch, and for some reason smiled happily. Turning back to them he said, "It's 11.30am now. It will take us about 6-7 hours. If we are going to get there before nightfall we should leave within the next 30 minutes. Let's GO!"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Corporal Molly James was tired. Bone tired. It had been a heavy two days with almost no sleep and precious little rest. She fingered her wedding ring, wondering where Charlie was and if they'd get the chance to work together again here. They had worked together previously, on that Turkish earthquake, but that had been a different kettle of fish. Charlie had flown out on Thursday evening and then the call had come through the next day for medical volunteers. She'd been at the front of the queue and they had managed to work in the same city and see each other regularly for over three weeks. Her CO had been really understanding and allowed her to stay out until she was almost the last British medic there. It had helped that working together they had saved a lot of lives. Then there was the tidal wave in Indonesia when she'd been on leave, and she'd insisted on going out with him. They had done some good work there and also saved lots of lives.

This time it was different. She knew Charlie was here. He'd flown out last week. But the Army mobilisation was much more significant this time. She had, of course, volunteered, and with her record and experience she'd been happily snapped up. They had flown out almost immediately. Jackie Dawlish and Mattie Turner had both been on the plane as well, so at least there were some people she knew. She'd been in country for less than a day when they'd asked for volunteers to go up to a remote medical centre in the mountain foothills in the north of the country. It had sounded like a worthwhile job so she'd volunteered and been assigned two other CMTs to work under her command. They had flown up by chopper and it was one of the scariest flights Molly had ever been on. The weather was already closing in by that time and they'd had a few near misses with cliffs and trees and by the time they got in visibility was in feet. The pilot had landed his chopper and refused to fly back because of the conditions.

When they got to the medical centre, it was not really worthy of its name; a brick built three roomed shack next to the local church. But it was one of the few buildings still standing, not blown over by the strong winds or carried away by flood waters. The local doctor had been delighted to see them and explained the issues. Mainly a lack of capacity and a lack of supplies. Molly had instructed Smith to work with some locals and get more buildings to be used and then she asked Murphy to call in the urgent need for supplies and support, and then get back and help her with triage.

It had been pretty much a constant stream of people for the past few days. The weather had totally closed in and their radio had been useless, there was no mobile phone reception and for some reason the satellite phone wasn't working. She'd managed to grab a few hours of what Charlie called "power naps" here and there, but it had been difficult and now they were down to almost nothing in the way of supplies.

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

A few hours later she stared along the row of beds. It was evening and the rain was still coming down in torrents. She'd never seen anything like it. The rain was almost of biblical proportions. Charlie had described the rainy season in some of the countries he'd been to and she knew from those stories that it could rain hard for hours on end, but in his stories it normally stopped after a time. Here it had been pretty solid for the past two days and the low cloud made everything so damp and cold as well. Luckily the buildings they were inhabiting were on a raised area and had rocky foundations, otherwise she thought they would probably have succumbed to the rain too.

It was unlikely the relief could come today now. No one moved around at night in Africa if they could help it; it was too dangerous. The work at the med centre was backbreaking. Tending to people whose homes had been destroyed around them, who had been hurt in car accidents, who had fallen down hills. She was taking a quick break, slumped in the chair, resting her blood-covered blue gloved hands on her bloody apron, when she heard someone shout, "Corp!" She turned around slowly, shifting her painfully aching body. Standing at the door was Murphy, who frankly looked about as shit as she felt, talking to a soldier. An honest to God British soldier, in camouflage and a soaking wet poncho, but looking good enough to eat under the light of the single electric bulb that hung in the middle of the room.

Carefully she dragged herself to her feet, realising what a mess she must look. She tried to inject a bit of military stiffness into her stance but reckoned she probably just looked stiff. Finally she got up to the soldier, who she could now see was a Corporal, and pulled down her surgical mask to speak to him. She was shocked when the soldier recoiled as if stung and muttered, "Shit! No wonder the gaffer was so keen to get here!"

Confused, but too tired to really bother, she introduced herself, "Corporal Molly James, Royal Army Medical Corps" only to be shocked when he answered with a broad Brummie accent, "I'm hurt you don't recognise me Dawesy, but I suppose it _has_ been a long time! Corporal Paul Rogers, 2nd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment."

It was her turn to recoil in shock, "Dangles?!" she went forward to hug him but then remembered she was covered in blood-soaked plastic and paused. "Erm maybe we'll leave that for later, since I'm covered in shit and you look like shit!" Then said hopefully, "please tell me you brought supplies and some more medics?"

"We have Molly. We've got a doctor and two paramedics with us from… an NGO, and my platoon has carried as many supplies as possible on our backs. Since the roads are washed away and we can't fly we had to carry it here. My CO asked me to get the senior British Army medic to report to him. If you want to tidy yourself up, I'll take you to him?"

Molly hurriedly stripped out of her surgical gloves, mask and apron, revealing her still pretty filthy camouflage utilities with her red cross armband and her red, blue and yellow tactical recognition flash, denoting the RAMC. She sanitised her hands and pulled her beret out of her pocket, taking a few seconds to straighten it as much as possible, and then turned to Dangles, who looked at her in concern. "You look like shit Mols. Now we're here I think you should take a rest for a bit."

"Yeah, well you try to take care of a medical centre with hundreds of patients with only 3 combat medics and a doctor for 3 days on end with no rest and no equipment, and then see how you look Dangles!" she snapped tiredly as they set off across the compound towards one of the huts on the periphery.

"Still the same old Dawesy I see," grinned Dangles, "Do me a favour Mols? Never change!"

They got to the hut he was heading for and Dangles banged on the door and entered while Molly stood outside. "Sir, the senior British medic, a Corporal James, is outside" Dangles reported but there was something wrong with his voice. Instead of being formal and appropriate, it sounded like he was grinning. The occupants inside conversed for a second and then Dangles came out grinning. "In you go Dawesy," he exclaimed and then grinned, "knock 'im dead!"

Even in her exhausted state it penetrated that this was pretty strange behaviour, but Dangles was gone into the night before she could react to him. She steeled herself, knocked on the door and went inside, drawing herself up as close to attention as she could get, given her stiffness and fatigue. "Corporal Molly James, RAMC. Reporting as ordered sir!" she reported respectfully to the man standing behind the desk. At that moment he was facing away from her, talking to three people who looked very much like medical professionals, wearing dark blue lightweight gear and white armbands with red crosses, and carrying medical packs.

The CO looked very strange to her in a way her fatigue-addled brain couldn't quite work out. That was it; his uniform. Or rather lack of it. He was wearing what looked like hiking boots, khaki trousers, though not in British Army camouflage pattern, and a khaki shirt, but again not standard. Over a chair hung a soaked blue Gore Tex waterproof which looked very similar to the one that Charlie had.

He swung round to face her and she was transfixed by a very familiar pair of brown eyes that stared at her with a concerned expression as they registered her exhaustion. She twitched in surprise. As stunned green eyes met brown, he introduced himself, "Bit formal today aren't we Dawesy?! But if you want to do it that way… I'm Major Charles James, British Army Reserve and Head of Disaster Emergency Relief, International Red Cross." Then his eyes crinkled and he grinned down at her sardonically, "Missed me?"

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><p><strong>AN 1 This idea came to me almost fully formed and took just a few hours to write up. I thought it would be really nice to see Molly and Charles in action one more time. I've taken a few liberties in terms of accuracy with regards to whether an officer could be re-instated for a few days, but it's just a story. I intended this as a one-shot but the more I think about it, it could grow. What do you think? Is it an interesting enough story to carry on with?**

**A/N 2 I made up the place name Buluna but I have been to the northern part of Sierra Leone in those foothills and I can confirm that the roads in that part of the world are some of the worst I've travelled on (and I've been to some of the shittiest parts of Africa and Asia!). Also the part about helicopters not flying during the rains is true but I've taken some liberties with the technological issues, although don't think it couldn't happen. One of the issues with the Allied landings at Arnhem in World War II (Operation Market Garden) was that the radio sets they took out were optimised for desert operations and couldn't handle trees and they couldn't contact their bases.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Our Girl. All rights belong to Tony Grounds and the BBC.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_As stunned green eyes met brown, he introduced himself, "Bit formal today aren't we Dawesy?! But if you want to do it that way… I'm Major Charles James, British Army Reserve and Head of Disaster Emergency Relief, International Red Cross." Then his eyes crinkled and he grinned down at her sardonically, "Missed me?"_

Molly froze in shock as her husband grinned at her like the cat that ate the canary for a few more seconds before turning to his companions, "Can you guys give Corporal James and I a few minutes? Then we'll do the handover and Corporal James' team can have a well-earned rest."

The three blue-clad medics all nodded their acknowledgement and filed out, with Francois Leroy, whose back had also been turned so she couldn't recognise him, smiling at her and remarking "Good to see you Molly" as he passed. The door closed behind them with a click and that, more than anything, helped to push Molly's addled brain into action and she turned to her husband disbelievingly, even as he closed the gap on her and pulled her into a tight hug. After what seemed like hours, but wasn't nearly long enough in her opinion, he pulled back and framed her face with his hands, running them up behind her neck and into her hair. She loved it when he did that; it always relaxed her and reminded her of one of their favourite shared past-times; when he washed her hair. Then he bent in for a searing kiss.

Finally pulling back he stared deep into her eyes again. His mouth turned up as he exclaimed, "Phew Molly! As your husband I think I've earned the right to tell you – you stink!" He immediately continued, noting her thunderous expression, "Yes yes, I know! Dangles told me – "You'd stink 'an all if you'd run a medical centre for three days with no support" or some such" he mimicked her accent with a grin. "You also look like shit. We're going to do a quick handover and then you're going for a rest. That's an order, Corporal James!" he finished sternly, pausing as he saw the questions on her face. _She must be exhausted_, he noted to himself, _it's not like her to be backwards about going forwards, particularly when it comes to speaking_!

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but in her sleep-deprived and exhausted state she just couldn't get them into any order. He noticed the emotions chasing each other across her face, and grasped her arm gently, "Take your time Mols, ask away."

She smiled up at him gratefully, and framed her most important question, "What are you doin 'ere, Charlie?" He smiled, and squeezed her arm as he replied, "Well, we've got a steady stream of aid coming into the country now, but we needed to get out to the more isolated parts to try and get an idea of what they need, so I've dispatched teams to each corner of the country and I just happened to lead this team. When I heard there was a British Army team on site, I must say I hoped it would be you, but I didn't hold out too much hope! What a pleasant surprise! Oh, apart from the smell." He teased, grinning at her.

She found herself grinning back, however much she wanted to glare at him, "You be careful Charles James. I'm willin' to let it go once but if you're not careful you'll wake the sleeping giant an' then you'll be in deep shit!" she paused and he smiled at her, shrinking back in mock terror, "Oh please don't pick on me Dawesy! Although I reckon I could take you at the moment; in fact I could probably knock you down with a feather in that state!"

She mock-glared at him. Although she wanted to deny it, she reckoned he was humouring her; actually he could probably knock her down by breathing on her! "So what's all this OC-stuff, _Major_?"

"Ah, well – that." He looked embarrassed, "Well it's kind of a long story, but to summarise, we bumped into this Army unit which was being sent to relieve you, which just happened to be commanded by Corporal Dangles after his dickhead Lieutenant had nearly succeeded in killing himself and some of his men. We took them back to our temporary HQ and got them in touch with Higher, which just happened to be Lieutenant Colonel Beck who used to be with the Under Fives, who recalled me to active duty and sent me off here!" he finished in a rush. "It's just temporary, but for the next few days you'll be under my command again, Corporal James…" and here he grinned, mock-menacingly, "and don't think I've forgotten all the trouble you caused last time I served with you Dawesy! I've got a long memory and I know you're trouble, so I'm going to be keeping a _close_ eye on you!"

She couldn't help herself responding to his jokey tone, "Oooh, sounds kinky, Bossman!"

"Yes, and don't you know it!" She swayed, and he looked at her concernedly, "Now I think it's time for you to do your handover and get some sleep, Mols. We've allocated a room for the soldiers and your medics are being put in there, and NCOs are in the room next door to here. Dangles has assigned someone to put up a bed for you. Oh, before you kip down, hand over your uniforms so we can get them washed – I'm not having a senior medic who smells like a horse!"

Glaring, she answered, "Well at least I've _got_ a uniform, _sir_!" Pleased at this evidence of her coming back to her usual self, he replied "Well, I wasn't exactly expecting this was I? Besides, it's only temporary until they can get another officer up here. Probably two days at the most, then it'll be back to Corporal James and Mr James, and I'll be able to do more of _this_!" he finished, kissing her hard.

As he pulled back, she winked at him, "I'll look forward to that, sir". He grinned, and started for the door, "Come along now Corporal, just a quick ten minute handover and then you can have a quick wash and get to your pit."

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Molly awoke to someone gently shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes blearily, shying away from the light coming through the windows. The someone had brown eyes which were twinkling at her mischievously, "I think you've slept long enough, Corporal James," he told her, "Time to get up unless you want me to tickle you!"

She opened her eyes fully. She had thought it had been a dream, but here he was, right in front of her. "Charlie, it _is_ you." She stammered, and then as she started to move, she felt the stiffness in her body and groaned, "Owwwww".

"That's what you get when you sleep for 15 hours, lazy bones!" That pulled her up sharp. "15 hours?" she questioned.

"Doctors orders. Francois told me you and your people had to sleep for at least 12 hours, and frankly you looked so peaceful I couldn't bring myself to wake you up for the last two hours!" he said, smiling, and then ruined it by adding, "plus I was enjoying the peace and quiet!"

"You watch it Charles James" she growled, trailing off as he held his hand up.

"Erm, I think you mean Major James, don't you? A bit more respect Corporal James, please, since I appear to outrank you!" he told her teasingly, but then added, "Anyway, before I get into a war I know I can't win, here's a peace offering" and he proffered a mug of tea.

She reached for it eagerly, "Peace offering accepted, _Major_. But you better watch yourself if you don't want to be in big trouble!"

He smiled at her and continued, "I'll leave you to get up Mols. There's a bowl of hot water and some soap at the bottom of the bed and your clean uniform is hanging on the back of the door. Clean up, grab yourself something to eat from the mess and join me in my office." He added, scrambling to his feet, "we need to discuss where we go from here."

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

45 minutes later she knocked and, following his invitation to enter, walked into his office, carrying a mug of tea and a plate containing sandwiches and some roasted vegetables. She felt pretty decent for the first time in a few days, despite the fact that she had had to wash her hair in cold water since there simply wasn't enough hot water, but the feel of a clean T-shirt and a clean uniform was fantastic. He was sitting on a chair by the desk, writing on a notepad.

She opened her mouth to thank him, but he waved at her to be quiet and take a seat and she noticed the headset on his head. It appeared he was on the phone. _How is that possible?_ She wondered. They had had no communications for days. He mouthed "Conference call – two minutes" at her, so she sat in the chair opposite his desk, cradling her tea and put the plate on the desk, signalling him to help himself.

She listened as he seemed to be rounding things off, "…OK Tim it sounds like everything's in hand. Let's start deploying the medical supplies by road, as we discussed. Use a convoy structure so that everybody goes with at least three vehicles, so if one gets into trouble the others can help out. I'll speak to the British Army and see if they want to send troops with our convoys as well. The idiots still seem to be sitting on their hands and hoping the weather clears up enough to use helicopters!

"Speak to HQ and schedule the fourth air delivery to Freetown. We're going to need those medical supplies, vehicles and tents ASAP. And let's start planning to get them distributed to the satellite centres as soon as they get in. It's 1pm now. Let's agree to catch up at 6pm. I'll speak to my contact at Army HQ in the mean-time and we'll try and set up a regular daily call with all parties, say at 8am. If I can't make any of the calls, I'll detail Francois or Dave to sit in. All OK?" obviously receiving an affirmative, he finished, "Great. Thanks Tim, and thank the others for me. Out here."

Turning to her, he smiled, "Well well Corporal James, looking quite a lot better I see. Thanks for the sandwiches. No bush meat, I hope?"

She grimaced, "I hope not, but you never know I suppose."

"Mmm" he mused, "better stick to the plantains then!"

She couldn't hold it in any longer, "Charlie, how come your phones are workin'? We haven't been able to make contact with anyone for days!"

He grinned at her. "Well Mols, I can tell you haven't used sat phones that often, and to be fair why would you when you've got radios? But there are two things that you need for sat phones to work – line of site contact with a satellite, and fresh batteries. Sadly, you didn't have either. Whoever issued you that sat phone should be shot. The batteries were totally flat by the time we got here and they forgot to give you the mini-dish attachment. In these valleys, and with all these trees, you need to use the dish on a sat phone and mount it so it's pointing through a gap. I had one of the squaddies mount it as soon as we arrived. We reported to your HQ as soon as we got here and filled them in on your lack of contact and also on the conditions here. They promised to send some more bodies and medical supplies within 48 hours. I want to build up a reserve here so if they get cut off again there are plenty.

"Higher has asked that you call in at 14.30 to give your full report, which gives you just over an hour to get your thoughts together. I'll be on the call as well, as your senior officer" he grinned. "I must say it's been a real eye opener to me looking at the awful logistics on this operation. Somebody's going to get a bottle for this – it's a complete mess!"

"Well not everyone can have the great Charles James as their disaster relief co-ordinator," she teased, "If you're not careful they might make your reactivation permanent!"

"God, I hope not!" Smiling, he helped himself to another plantain before looking directly at her, "So how are you feeling Mols? I've got to say that as your CO and especially as your husband I'm really proud of what you've accomplished here. I've been speaking to Dr John and he said that you were like a whirling dervish, setting up triage, getting more space and making sure everybody got treated, and he said you really helped him a lot and utilised the resources that were to hand as efficiently as possible. He said there's no way they would have been able to hold it together if you hadn't been here. Murphy and Smith told me that you were always there to help and that you managed to keep morale up wonderfully. You should be really proud of yourself, and I'm not just saying that because I'm your husband. In fact I'm saying it despite being your husband."

She felt herself beginning to tear up. While it was great to have your professional colleagues respect you, to have someone that she respected and loved as much as her husband say something like that to her was extra special. "I was just doin' my job." She answered quietly.

"Yes I know you were my darling, but you were doing it brilliantly, as usual" he replied, standing and pulling her into a hug. "You've made a difference to a lot of people's lives here and you should be really proud." He let her go too quickly for her liking, "Sorry, I forgot myself. Award yourself one extra-long hug and a kiss. You can claim it as soon as I get relieved!"

"It better be an extra-long kiss as well, sir! Otherwise there might be a mutiny!" she joked.

"I'm sure that can be arranged!" he replied, standing, "Now I'm going to check in with Dangles and make sure everything is OK. I suggest you start working on what you're going to say to Higher and I'll be back in 40 minutes. There's a pad in the second drawer of the desk if you want to make notes."

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Charles had appeared 15 minutes before the call was due to start with Dangleberries in tow. Dangles had immediately asked, "Can I get my hug now Dawesy?" adding as she went to hug him, "You certainly look and smell better!" which earned him a punch in the shoulder as well as a hug! They had spent 10 minutes, a plate of plantains (which Molly was starting to develop quite a taste for) and three mugs of tea having a quick catch up covering the high points of the time since they'd seen each other. While they both knew that Dangles had transferred to 2nd Anglian to be closer to his sick mother, they hadn't seen him since their wedding over a year ago.

The atmosphere in Charles' office for the call was pretty light, almost collegial. There was no video screen, so everybody just relaxed in their chairs sipping tea and eating plantains. The call with HQ went pretty well and Lieutenant Colonel Beck re-iterated Major James' congratulations on a job well-done. At the end of the call Colonel Beck noted that, further to Major James' request, he had despatched a team including a captain, two sections, a doctor and another four medics by car and foot, which was expected to get to them late tomorrow. The captain would relieve Charles and the team would also carry as many medical supplies as possible as well as extra sat phone batteries and hopefully higher powered radios. Latest weather forecasts apparently suggested that conditions were improving and helicopters may be able to fly within a few days, but at this point no-one was holding their breaths.

Colonel Beck also listened to Charles' comments about logistics and equipment and confirmed that the issues had been noted. He also promised that someone senior from the British Army would attend the regular conference call that Charles had set up for every day at 8am. He signed off by congratulating them all on the job they were doing.

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Molly had spent 30 minutes with Charles and Dangles after the call arranging a shift structure which best utilised the extra manpower and medical personnel. She had then taken a six hour shift in the hospital and now, having grabbed a bite to eat, was just heading back to her quarters to get some sleep when Charles' voice called her into his office. "Boss?" she questioned, closing the door behind her.

He looked up from his desk tiredly, "Don't I get a good night kiss, Dawesy?" he enquired, smirking at her lasciviously.

She glared at him, "_You_ are a bad influence, Bossman. Here I am trying to keep it professional and you're leading me astray!"

"Well, the door's closed so it's not like anyone's going to see us." He replied, grinning, but then his expression turned more serious, "You look knackered Mols. You should get off to bed – you're on early shift tomorrow, aren't you? You'll probably – what was it? Oh yes – you'll probably be asleep before the springs 'it the floor!" he finished, dredging up her comment from all those years ago, and delivering it in a pidgin Cockney accent.

She stared at him ruminatingly for a few seconds, before pronouncing, "You are so busted Charlie James. Now you've done it. You're so going down!"

"Oooh, looks like I'll have to take my chances!" he replied, "Now give me a kiss and bugger off next door and get some rest!" She was only too happy to obey.

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

She was in the med centre for her early shift the next day when Murphy came to get her. It was about 08.30 and she had been working already for two and a half hours. "Corp, Major James asked me to send you to his office. I'm to relieve you here. He said to hurry - it's urgent." After doing a quick handover with Murphy she stripped out of her sterile kit, sanitised her hands and ran to Charles' office.

Knocking on the door and being called in, she entered to find Charles, Francois, Dangles and Joseph, one of the local village elders, all poring over a map. "Boss?" she questioned.

He answered, all business, "Dawesy, great – thanks for coming so quickly. Unfortunately we've got a bit of an emergency. Two minibuses carrying about 30-40 people have crashed and fallen down a ravine about 30 minutes' drive from here. Most of the people on board were kids trying to get to school. There are lots of injuries apparently and many people are trapped in the wreckage. I've called into Higher and told them we will send a rescue party, but that they need to get the relief team here as soon as possible since it will deplete our medical supplies. I will lead the mission with Francois, Private Smith and you as our medical staff. I'm afraid that a lot of the onus will fall on you and Smith as you are better trained in trauma treatment. Dangles will come with us with eight of his people. It's likely we will need manpower to extract people from the wreckage and we have very little in the way of equipment. Joseph is going to talk to the owners of the local hardware shop and see if we can commandeer some of their equipment. In addition to that the roads in that area are pretty impassable and we'll have to walk the last two kilometres, maybe more.

"I want you to get with Francois and decide what medical equipment and supplies you will _need_ and what you _would like_. We will bring everything you will need and as much as we can of what you would like. We will also need to treat people at the scene so we will need to carry tents to provide cover to set up treatment facilities.

"Dangles, I want you to select who to take and then get with the medics and start allocating the equipment. Bear in mind that we may be deployed overnight so make sure everyone brings enough water purification tablets and anti-malaria pills. We'll also need portable beds for casualties and stretchers. Joseph is going to rustle up some trucks but we'll be carrying all of it on our backs for the last two kay's. You also need to assign me someone for fetching and carrying

"Joseph, can you get me with the local hardware shop owners? I'll look over the equipment and choose what we'll need to take.

"OK everybody, let's get moving – time is of the essence here if we want to save lives!"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

The team that had been chosen to head for the crash site was standing at attention in front of Major James, with the two Corporals standing to one side. The soldiers were all dressed in their ponchos to ward off the almost constant rain, with the Red Cross people dressed in their Gore tex outfits. Everyone had their equipment bags at their feet. Francois was just chasing down a few last minute items and would join them outside in a second. Corporal Turner, Dangles' fellow NCO, and Dave Francis, the senior remaining member of Charles' team, were standing to the side receiving last minute instructions from the Major. "OK Dave, Tim Duggan in Freetown has assumed theatre command of the entire country until I get back, but you're in charge of this location from a Red Cross perspective and you should sit on the 8am call tomorrow if I'm not back." Looking at the two of them he continued, "Between the two of you, you're in charge of this location. Corporal, if any other emergencies arise I'm ordering you not to further split the team, they will just have to get here as best they can unless the relief team arrives here first, understood?" he concluded.

"Yes Charles. Yes sir" responded the two.

"OK, just stay for a second while I give this bunch their orders, so you know what's going on, and then you'd better get back to work." He finished, turning to the troops and raising his voice, "OK you lot. You know what we're doing and where we're going. A few important points before we get on our way.

"Please note that Sierra Leone and West Africa have a very high HIV rate in the population. You should be very careful about contact with blood and bodily fluids. Make sure that when you are dealing with casualties or are likely to come into contact with surfaces contaminated with blood you wear gloves at all times and when dealing with casualties you should always wear surgical masks just in case blood squirts up at you unexpectedly. If in doubt, consult one of our medical team or me.

"Also you should be aware that there was some fighting in this area during the civil war. As you know there is an issue of landmines in this country. Don't go wandering off on your own, and only follow locals if you are compelled to get away. You should NOT move off the cleared areas at any time. If you need a piss just put a bit of distance from the people around you and turn away, but for God's sake, don't go wandering into the bush!

"The trucks will get us as close as possible to the crash site, after which we'll have to go in on foot. For God's sake stay with your guides at all times! When we get to the site, Corporal James will have command of all medical operations and I will command all rescue operations with overall command of the scene. Corporal James is a top expert in trauma medicine. She has two tours in Afghanistan and previously worked on the Turkish Earthquake two years ago and the Indonesian tidal wave as well. Listen to what she tells you and do it as if the order came from me.

"One last thing. Stay focused and stay alert, and we'll get as many people out alive as possible. Let's go!"

The troops immediately started to disburse and he swung round to face his two NCOs, who were smirking at each other and him, "What?" he barked. They both looked at each other, but it was Molly who answered, "Only that it was a bit like old times Boss, but you should really work on your material!"

"Ha! I'll give you material! Come on, let's get going!" As Dangles headed off Molly paused to face Charles one last time. This time she had a serious look on her face, "Thanks for what you said about me Charlie, it really means a lot. Especially coming from you. It's great to see you in command again, it really suits you." And then she grinned mischievously, leaning up to whisper in his ear, "and your command voice really makes me wet!" she added before practically skipping off, leaving him speechless and staring after her, "Evil little minx!" He growled, but rapidly pulled himself together, hefted his pack and set off for the trucks.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope that everyone enjoyed this as much as the first chapter. It's often difficult to keep the quality as high in follow up chapters, especially with something intended as a one-shot, but hopefully this is OK. I told myself I'd do another chapter if I got to 20 reviews, so I was a bit gobsmacked with 41! Thank you SO MUCH for reviewing, and for the nice things everyone said – it really means a lot. <strong>

**A/N 1 Plantains are kind of like a big, less tasty banana which are served as a kind of potato-analogue. They may be roasted or fried and sometimes boiled. You might have also come across them in the Caribbean. They are quite tasty – says me, but then I've eaten some truly hideous things in my travels. Horse's penis, anyone?!**

**A/N 2 Bush meat can mean any meat caught in the rainforest including amphibians, mammals, reptiles and birds. Since the provenance is unknown you never quite know what you are eating – it may be chicken, but it may be monkey! Hence why many people are a bit wary about eating it! **

**A/N 3 Thanks to all of the reviewers for the last chapter of Captain's Log, particularly the guest reviewer (JC) who wrote me an essay! Thanks to all the guest reviewers. Unfortunately if you ask me a question as a guest I can't respond – you need to be logged in for me to reply to you…**


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own Our Girl. All rights belong to Tony Grounds and the BBC.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

Everything had gone according to plan and they were now yomping the final few kilometres to the crash area. Charles was out in front, behind their guides, setting a good example to the troops, and the Corporals were close by him, with the rest of the team and Francois Leroy spread out behind them. All were carrying packs full of medical equipment, tents, portable stretchers and beds, two vallons and equipment that Charles had picked up from the local hardware shop, including metal bars and metal cutters.

Dangles had a question, "Boss, how did you know exactly what equipment to get for this situation? I wouldn't know where to start."

Molly looked on proudly as her husband explained Disaster Relief 101, "Well Corporal Rogers," He was always very careful to refer to his NCOs by their proper names in front of the troops, "my team deals with the aftermaths of hurricanes, tidal waves and earthquakes all over the world. It can often take days, if not weeks, for heavy equipment to get through. I make sure my people are trained to improvise. In some situations you have access to mains power or generators and you can use electrical equipment, but in others there's no power and you might have to just use a saw and a metal tube for leverage…" he looked meaningfully at the metal tube he was carrying in his hands.

She chimed in, "He's being modest there. He's the one that insisted on introducing that training. Before that they just used to rely on their bare hands." She glanced at him proudly, smiling slightly as he blushed, "His strategy has been adopted by loads of other emergency organisations."

Saving him from further embarrassment the trees started to thin and the gradient flatten out. As they emerged from the trees, they could see the crash site slightly above them. The roadway looked very thin on the side of the hill 100 feet above and they could see the scars on the side of the ravine from where the vehicles had bounced down the steep drop. Below, they could see the remains of the minibuses in the distance with wreckage sprinkled over the floor of the valley.

Charles signalled a halt and moved up to have a quick word with their lead guide, James, and then turned to address the team, "OK everybody. Medics and their helpers will go in first and triage the wounded. While they are doing that Corporal Rogers, if you and your team could make sure an area is safe (use the vallons) and set up a treatment tent for Dr Leroy and start getting the beds and stretchers deployed. My team will work with me to start extracting the wounded from the wreckage. Remember what I said about wandering away and keep your wits about you at all times. LET'S GO!"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Molly James finished wrapping the field dressing around the unconscious little girl's left arm and stepped back, signalling to Peters and Richardson to take the badly injured girl into the medi tent that the team had set up about 200 feet away. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and realised that there was no-one else in the queue for triage. Glory be! She had already treated something like 20 people over the last hour and was quite happy for a chance to draw some breath. She could take a quick breather and then go and help Charles with the trapped patients.

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Corporal Rogers looked over the crash site with barely concealed shock. Three hours ago when they had arrived, this place had looked like a scene from Hell, with badly mangled vehicles and bodies spread all over the place, exposed in the half-light caused by the low clouds which covered the sun. Now the rain which had been plaguing them for the last several weeks had stopped (he didn't know how long for) and the low cloud was lifting, exposing the tops of the hills (he might even go so far as to call them mountains) around them. It really was a beautiful part of the world.

But the contrast at the crash site was even more amazing. Molly had run through the walking wounded like a hot knife through butter and the Bossman had assessed the damaged vehicles and injured people and bodies within them, and allocated resources for treatment and extraction like he'd been doing it all his life. There must have been something like 25-30 walking or easily-extractable wounded and Molly had treated about 20 of them. The other medic, Smith, had barely even got started.

It wasn't like he didn't know already that Molly was a damn fine combat medic. He'd had the opportunity to see her work at first hand, after all. But this Molly was different. This Molly had a confidence and command presence which was up there with some of the best officers he'd worked with. Actually it reminded him of Captain James. He wondered whether Molly had consciously modelled herself on the Captain? It made sense, he supposed.

He wasn't the only one who had noticed. He had overheard some of Molly's helpers talking on several of their trips ferrying casualties to the tent where they had set up the Red Cross doctor. Peters had been saying, "…she's amazing. Did you see how quickly she assessed his injuries? It was like in the blink of an eye and then she had him trussed up in no time." And Richardson had responded with the best complement you could ever pay a combat medic, "Yeah, it was brilliant. I hope if we ever go into battle, we've got someone like her with us."

Having finished working with the walking wounded Molly had quickly gravitated to the wreckage and now she was working with the Bossman on trying to extract an injured man from one of the minibuses. They worked together almost seamlessly, but what was really surprising was that, not only was the Bossman directing the team working on the extraction, but he was also seemingly working on the medical aspects of treating the casualty.

"Impressive, aren't they?" The voice from behind and to the right startled Dangles, and he immediately looked to the side to see the Red Cross doctor, Francois Leroy, wiping his hands on a bloody paper towel before disposing of it in one of the plastic bags hanging outside the tent, "They make an amazing team. I've only worked with Molly once, on that Indonesian tidal wave, but she was really impressive and between them they saved a lot of lives. I tried to get the Red Cross to hire her, but Charles told me "Hands off". He told me he wanted her to have the chance to be "Brilliant". I guess he was right because she looks pretty brilliant from here, don't you think?

"I've worked with Charles all round the world of course. It's amazing to think that in only three years he's become such a Go-to man in the organisation, but he's an amazing guy. His ability to think big picture, but also to help out in a situation like this, to improvise, and his leadership ability are manna from heaven to an NGO. You served with him before didn't you? Why would your Army let someone like him go?"

Dangles had often thought about that over the years, particularly in his last six months assigned to the lieutenant from Hell! "He was injured in Afghanistan. Molly saved his life actually, and I think he thought if he stayed in the Army he would only ever have a desk job. He resigned. We all wanted him to stay. Our section Corporal actually got all of us to write to him to try to persuade him not to go. Everybody did it. I've never heard of that happening before. But he still went. I think part of it was Molly. He didn't want to stand in her way, and he also told me once that he wanted to do something positive for the world. Still, he was the best officer I've ever served with.

"What I'm surprised about is how he's doing the medical stuff. What's that all about?"

Francois looked at him, surprised, "You don't know? Charles insisted that all key disaster emergency personnel attend a course in Emergency Medicine so that they could help out in situations like this. He said after his first few overseas operations that he felt so helpless and it was daft having people standing around not being able to help. He was the first person who passed the course last year. I think he and Molly took it together. So now he's a fully trained paramedic. He's not as good as she is, but he can hold his own…. Hmmm, looks like I'm about to have some more work," Francois was looking across at where they were working and saw Charles reach in to pull the injured man out of the window. He turned and walked back into the tent to prepare for the casualty.

Dangles walked towards the Boss as they moved the man onto a stretcher. Molly checked his dressings, while Charles passed the IV drip they had connected him to over to one of the soldiers. He had a quick word with the stretcher bearers and then turned away to address Molly and the helpers. Dangles was just in hearing range and heard him say, "Good job everyone. Now take two and it's on to the next one." Then he stripped off his blood-stained plastic gloves, patted Molly on the soldier (his back was to Dangles but he must have said something or smiled at her, because she shot a radiant smile back at him) and turned towards the medical tent, catching sight of Dangles.

"Ah Corporal Rogers," he called, approaching, "I was just coming to get you. We've only got another two to three casualties to treat and extract, and they're just trapped, don't seem to be badly injured, so I think it's time to start transferring the most critical cases back to the medical centre. Could you allocate four of your people and ask for 2-3 local volunteers, and we can send Smith on each trip to monitor their condition. I don't think we can send more than two stretcher cases with each trip but you can fit some walking wounded in the trucks. I think we should be able to fit about 3-4 trips in before it gets dark, assuming it will take about an hour to get up to the trucks and 30 minutes for each journey, which means that some of us and the wounded will need to stay here overnight. Can you accompany the first trip and see about getting us some supplies, food and bedding for overnight?"

"Yes sir" he replied, "and sir?" he added, causing Major James' eyebrows to lift interrogatively, "It's been a real honour to see you in action one last time."

The Major smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder, "It's been an honour to serve with you again too Dangles, and we'll celebrate with a drink when we get back to Freetown, but for now let's get the show on the road!" and he turned away, heading back to his rescue team as they moved on to the other wrecked minibus.

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Charles leaned back against someone's rucksack as he gnawed on a roasted plantain and watched Francois and Molly talk with Peters on the other side of the crackling log fire, while other members of the Army team and volunteers from the local village were also in conversation, enjoying the heat and light given off by the fire. This was why he'd joined the Red Cross; to make a difference. He enjoyed all the logistical planning and running the operations as well, and he was good at it, but it was the ability to get out into the field and help people at a one to one level that he really loved about his job.

He reflected back on a successful day. When they'd made it to the crash site he'd been worried that he might not have brought enough medics with him. It had been a difficult decision and one that needed to be taken immediately; they needed a doctor and Francois was the best emergency doctor he'd ever worked with, and at the end of the day Dr John, the local doctor at the med centre, was more of a GP, so that was a no-brainer. And then he needed people who were specialists in dealing with trauma. While all his Red Cross people had paramedic training, his medics also had nursing training, which was very important at the med centre. Added to that, the sort of injuries they were likely to have to deal with at the crash site would likely be more akin to the sort of injuries you saw on a battlefield, blunt force trauma, penetrations and severe blood loss, and he had felt that the military team would be better-placed to handle that. Still he was wondering whether he should have brought the other Army medic, Murphy, as well. He had elected to leave him at the Med centre because they were already short-handed there and he didn't want to add to the pressure there.

As it happened it hadn't mattered because Molly had gone through triage like a berserker. He knew she was good, but she was really in the zone today. Francois told him she had triaged 20 patients in just over an hour, and all of them she was bang on with. She had treated 20 patients, some of them people with multiple injuries that they had extracted from the wrecked minibuses, in the time it had taken Private Smith to treat six patients, all of whom were relatively simple. There was no getting away from it; his wife was a world class medic, as he always knew she had the potential to be.

Then she had come over to help him with the extractions. They had been working on the badly injured first. They, along with Francois, had had to amputate one man's left leg to get him out and that was always one of the most unpleasant procedures to do, but they had managed to stabilise the man, even though they had had to cauterise the wound because of their lack of supplies at the site. Hopefully he would pull through. They had managed to get a further six patients out of the wreckage, some with serious injuries and some without. And then they had managed to get all those with serious injuries out to the trucks and to the Medical Centre before darkness fell.

The local villagers, overjoyed that only six people had been killed thanks to the combined actions of the British Army and Red Cross teams, had really come to the party in terms of supplies. They had carried in firewood for this magnificent fire and had supplied throws and blankets for the volunteers to use to sleep under. Then they had brought out a wild boar to be roasted on the fire. The rain had started again early in the afternoon which hadn't been enjoyable, but had devolved to a slow drizzle and stopped by 7pm and now everyone was warming up and drying out. The low cloud was still in place though and unfortunately they couldn't see the sky. It looked like they would be sleeping in the tent with the remaining patients tonight. It would be a tight fit, but possible with three of the soldiers on a rotating watch throughout the night.

Someone sat down beside him, and he looked to his right to see Molly smiling at him. "You looked miles away," she observed quietly. Her East End accent was less pronounced these days, but still came out when she was excited, tired or stressed. Often she seemed to lob in some rhyming slang just to confuse him!

"Just reflecting on a successful day." He replied, also quietly, conscious of the many ears around them, "You were amazing Mols. I wondered if I'd brought enough medics, but I probably could have coped with just you and Francois!"

She blushed in the darkness, still not comfortable with receiving compliments, and turned it around on him, "You were pretty great yourself, Major James. I heard several of Dangles' boys wishing that you could be their officer. I had to prevent myself from telling them that you were all mine!"

"And don't you believe it Corporal James!" he grinned, but continued earnestly, "But seriously Mols, you were the difference today. You should be very proud of what you've become. I know I am." She felt tears coming to her eyes. She knew that she would not be the person she was today without Charles' support. She may not even still be in the Army. He had been unwavering in his support for her, his belief in her. Whenever she wavered he had been there to reassure her. He had stood by her every step of the way. Standing up for her and even against her, when necessary. Often telling her when he felt her lack of self-confidence was undermining her.

It was he who had found the correspondence course in Emergency Medicine, ostensibly for him and some of his colleagues to do, but he had asked her if she wanted to do it as well. It turned out that they accepted Armed Forces qualifications in lieu of examinations and he thought it would be a worthwhile course for her. She had tried to say that she wasn't smart enough to do it and he had given her both barrels. He had told her (again) that she was one of the most intelligent people he knew, even if she was uneducated, and that she should be able to pass this course with her eyes closed if she only had the balls to give it a try. He was only going for a diploma, but he would be surprised if she couldn't get a full degree. He had told her that if she didn't get her head out of her arse about her potential, opportunities were going to pass her by, and that would be a great shame for her and a real disappointment to him. Then he had shoved the course plan in her face and told her to look at it and confirm she could do everything that was there. Then he had stomped upstairs in a huff, whether real or simulated she didn't know to this day.

The disappointment comment really hurt. She never wanted to disappoint him; he was so important to her. She had looked at the course prospectus and confirmed that he was right. She could do everything on there, probably with her eyes closed. It was the written work she was worried about, but then she realised what he was doing. By offering to do the course with her he was ensuring that she would have someone to help her with the written work. He really was a very special man. Needless to say she had gone right upstairs and apologised and showed him that she loved him.

And he had been right. She had aced the course and now she had an Honours Degree in Emergency Medicine. She remembered her family's faces at the graduation ceremony. Her father had practically been in tears. Who would have thought it? Molly Dawes, the no hope girl from the East End with no GCSEs, had got a degree. Well, that wasn't strictly true, she supposed, because no hoper Molly Dawes had been replaced by Lance Corporal and then Corporal Molly Dawes, and latterly by Corporal Molly James, who was a whole different kettle of fish. She still thanked God regularly that Charles had been her first Captain though. How different would her life have been without him?

"Earth to Mols?" she was brought back to the present by Charles staring at her concernedly, "are you OK?" She wiped her moist eyes on the back of her hands, "Just thinking... Fank you for making me do that course, Charlie. I wouldn't be the person I am today without you an' your love and support. I really want to kiss you now. I 'ate not bein' able to."

He reached out, squeezed her hand and smiled sadly at her, before quickly retracting his hand, "Ditto".

* * *

><p><strong>AN 1 Hope you enjoy. Please R&R!**

**A/N 2 Taking the Tony Grounds strategy of keeping it short and sweet and quitting while you're ahead, I think this is probably the penultimate chapter of "Missed Me".**

**A/N 3 It seems very quiet on FFNet at the moment. I assume everyone is busy voting in the RadioTimes poll! If you're not, you should be!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own Our Girl. All rights belong to Tony Grounds and the BBC.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

As he sat in the truck taking him, Francois, Molly and the remainder of Dangles' team back to the Medical Centre the following morning, Charles James reflected on an amazing few days. It was strange to think that he and his team had been in this area for less than three days. They'd certainly packed a lot in!

He hoped that the Army relief team made it to the Med Centre today. While he'd enjoyed commanding Dangles' and Molly's teams, he found he much preferred his regular job, and the day to day responsibilities of running the Army team had really taken away from his ability both to help on the ground and to co-ordinate at both a country-wide and regional level. He also hated the way he had to keep Molly at a distance. Sure, when he was relieved they weren't going to be all over each other, but at least some physical contact, holding her hand occasionally, a kiss good morning or good night and one of her fantastic hugs wouldn't be against the rules. Plus he would get to be able to spend more time with her when she was off duty. There wouldn't be any issues with Corporal James spending time with Mr James the way there would be with a Corporal spending personal time with a Major. Last night had been a good example. When he saw she was crying he would have really liked to give her a hug and a kiss, particularly after the horrific day they'd both had, but that solution wasn't open to Major James since there was no opportunity for them to get out of public view. He'd had to make do with a quick hand squeeze and supportive words.

He loved spending time with Molly and the opportunity to do it while he did his job was really the icing on the cake. Unfortunately their jobs did mean that they were often apart for extended periods of time, but neither would have it any other way. He was happy for Molly to do what she was doing since she loved it and it gave her the opportunity to be what he'd always thought she could be, and she was happy for him to do what he did because it made such a difference to people's lives and because it made him happy as well. When one or other of them was away they missed each other, but that just made the homecomings even more fun! And, not being in war zones, most of the time they could communicate by phone or over the internet, so it wasn't like it was complete cold turkey.

As the trucks drew up to the Medical Centre and the troops disembarked and started helping the injured down and into the building, Charles realised that there seemed to be many more camouflage-clad bodies here than when he had left. _I guess the relief has already arrived_, he concluded, smiling at Molly who had also noticed the higher number of soldiers present. To his surprise, she looked melancholy. "What's wrong?" he asked, under the cover of helping her climb down from the truck.

"I don't know," she replied, "obviously it'll be great to behave a bit more like husband an' wife now, but I never thought I'd ever be under your command again and it's been really fun an' reminded me of the old days in Afghan. Seein' you in command is different from seein' you working with the Red Cross. In the Red Cross you're more human, you're a co-ordinator. You ask people to help, an' they do because you're a brilliant leader. In the Army you're more forthright, you lead an' people follow. It feels so natural. As if you were born to do it, Charlie. I've served with some good officers over the past few years, but none of them have been as good as you were. Dangles feels the same. I can't help feelin' that I've taken you away from your best destiny. That's why I'm a bit sad."

She wouldn't meet his eyes so, gesturing to Dangles to sort out the men and the injured and receiving a nod in return, he led her to the room that he had used as his office, pleased that it was deserted for the time being. He lifted her head with his finger, so he could look directly into her eyes. They were moist, "I've finished that period of my life Mols and I did enjoy it, there's no denying that, but I was just thinking that I'm ready to go back to my Red Cross job now. I've loved having you and Dangles under my command again, but I can do so much more through the Red Cross than I could through the Army; I can achieve so much more.

"And I'm not having any of your guilt. It's not your fault anyway that I left the Army. I left because I was injured and because I fucked up; predominantly because I fucked up. But also because I was tired. I wanted to work on building something, not destroying things. This is the _best_ job in the world and I have no regrets about leaving the Army. My only regret is that we don't get to spend as much time with each other as I'd like, but I really treasure the time we do spend together." He kissed her quickly on the lips to emphasise his point, and then finished, "Now Corporal James, let's find this new senior officer so that I can do some more of that!"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Captain Neil Williams was a tall man with straight black hair and a round face. He was also, Charles noticed, wearing the yellow and black tactical recognition flash which denoted the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Anglian, so he would probably already be known to Dangles. He had arrived in Charles' reclaimed office about 45 minutes after his conversation with Molly and braced to attention.

After apologising for not being present at the compound to greet them on their return (it turned out he had been down the road with some engineers consulting on trying to strengthen one of the nearby bridges) he confirmed that he had been sent by Lieutenant Colonel Beck to relieve Major James and take control of the British Army units in the area. He had arrived with a 12 person detachment consisting of 4 extra medical personnel, including a doctor), 4 Royal Engineers and 4 extra soldiers. He had informed Charles that they were both due on a conference call at 12.00 with Lieutenant Colonel Beck, after which Charles would be officially relieved. They arranged to meet for a handover debrief and to get to know each other at 11.00, when Charles would introduce him to the NCOs and senior Red Cross representatives that he had not already met.

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Nearly three hours later Charles, Molly, Dangles and Francois were sitting in Charles' office eating plantains and drinking tea. Charles was pleased that Captain Williams was not a martinet. He had managed to grab a few minutes with Dangles who had confirmed that Captain Williams had a good reputation in the Battalion and was a good officer. Their handover had gone well with Captain Williams and Colonel Beck both paying due respect to his NCOs' accomplishments, and for that he was happy. The Captain had officially relieved him and Colonel Beck had thanked him for his being prepared to help out at short notice and confirmed that when they all returned to Freetown they should go out for a drink. Captain Williams had taken his leave to get on with running his detachment, but not before informing Molly and Dangles that they, and the other soldiers who had stayed overnight last night, should take the rest of the day off. Dangles had nipped out to pass that information on to the men, but had returned, and now here they were enjoying lunch together and relaxing.

"Would you believe it?" exclaimed Francois, "It's stopped raining. That's two days in a row that it's stopped raining during the day. I wonder if things are improving?"

"God, I 'ope so!" observed Molly, "I'm bored of rain!"

"You should be careful what you wish for Mols," answered Charles, grinning, "It's pretty hot and humid here when it's not raining. I mean it's great if you're sitting in Freetown next to the pool or on the beach, but it's pretty minging inland, and once the sun comes out the mosquitos come out too and that's not fun!"

"I s'pose so, but I'm still bored with rain!"

"Still boss, it's a really nice part of the world," noted Dangles, "When you were working yesterday there was about an hour when the clouds cleared and you could see the tops of the hills. It was a bit like where we were in Afghan – but a lot greener, obviously!"

"It's still a bit of a mixed blessing if it does stop raining though," commented Charles, "It means we'll all be moving on. I mean, we can probably draw out our stay for a few extra days. Go out by road to some of the outlying villages, if we can, and make sure people are OK there, but they'll get the choppers working and you guys will be pulled out and we'll probably already be gone."

"Where will you go next Boss?" asked Dangles.

"I should think it'll be back to Freetown for Francois and I. Now that the British Army has sent an extra doctor, he's probably not needed here and there's a significantly greater population in Freetown and its outskirts that we can help more directly. We'll be based near Freetown and drive out to surrounding areas to give local medical support, I should think. It'll also be easier for me to co-ordinate the logistics requirements from closer to Freetown." he turned to look at Francois, as if inviting him to add anything.

Francois just smiled, "You're the boss. You tell me where to go! But I reckon that's about right. Now that the British Army has started providing support to the outlying areas we can re-focus and start the next stage of operations."

Charles grinned at Molly, "I hope you heard that Mols? I'm "the Boss"!"

"In yer dreams Charlie!"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Corporal Molly James thanked the driver that had dropped her and stood for a second to admire the brilliant view of Lumley Beach, and the beautiful sunset which was lighting it up, before turning around and walking towards the concrete aberration which was the nearby Radisson Blu hotel.

The past few weeks had been less fraught than the beginning of her trip to Sierra Leone. The weather had continued to improve and, only two more days after they had returned from the minibus crash site, Charles had told her that he couldn't justify staying in Buluna any longer and that he and Francois were heading back to Freetown the next day. Her team had been withdrawn from the Buluna medical centre only a few days after Charles had left. The helicopter ride back to Freetown had been considerably less hairy than the ride up and for that she was grateful.

After a few days of normal duties to charge their batteries, her team of three had been supplemented by two additional medics with nursing training and sent off to another medical centre in the south of the country where she had been instructed to take charge. They had been well-resourced and, with the rains starting to abate, there had been no problem with communication and re-supply. They had been able to work 8 hour shifts and keep well on top of the flow of patients. They had finally been called back to Freetown in the middle of this week.

With the rains now starting to die out the engineers had been busy rebuilding roads and other infrastructure and the overall situation was starting to become considerably less dire. People had begun to return to and rebuild their homes and the British Army was starting to think about withdrawing some of its troops.

She knew the NGOs were changing their focus as well. She had been in touch with Charles by phone and Skype regularly over the past two weeks and she knew that over the past 2-3 days he had been handing over his responsibilities to the team that would run this region over the longer term. Today was due to be his last day of handover, and he was expecting to take this weekend off, and hopefully they would get some time together, before flying back to the UK at the beginning of next week. He had agreed to meet her and Dangles in the Baw Baw Bar at the Radisson Blu to celebrate a job well-done and remember old times. He had said that he would see if Lieutenant Colonel Beck would join them, strictly informally of course, and she had also asked Jackie, who agreed to come along a bit later after her shift finished.

As she walked into the bar she saw Dangles and Charles already firmly ensconced in a corner, both with bottles of beer. There was a glass of white wine (her preferred tipple) also waiting on the table. Dangles was wearing camouflage trousers and a T-shirt, like her, while Charles was clad in his khaki trousers and a dark blue shirt. As she headed towards them both men got to their feet and greeted her with a hug. "Is that mine?" she asked, pointing to the wine.

Charles didn't miss a beat, "Nah I got that for Jackie." He told her, grinning, "Why? Did you want one?" Grinning at her pout, he continued, "Of course it's for you, you muppet!"

She glared at him, "Since I haven't seen you for two weeks Charlie I'm gonna let you off with that, but tease me again and you'll be busted, savvy?!"

Dangles grinned at them, "I've got to say Boss, whatever the other boys reckon, I say you've got balls of steel if you want to come between Dawesy and her drink at a time like this!"

Luckily at that point Colonel Beck turned up, neatly deflecting any further "discussions". He was also dressed casually in slacks and a shirt, looking every inch the off-duty senior officer. But he enquired casually whether anybody wanted a drink and happily ventured to the bar to pick up bottles for Dangles and Charles. Molly had been a bit worried that having the Colonel there would make everything too formal but Charles had assured her it wouldn't be like that and it turned out not to be. The Colonel took part in all the conversations, wasn't over-bearing and told Dangles and Molly to call him by his first name (which of course they didn't).

As the night wore on and Jackie arrived, they ordered dinner and settled in with a couple of bottles of wine. Just as the main course arrived, Colonel Beck jerked as though remembering something.

"Corporal James. Last bit of business for the day – I'm glad I remembered. I had a meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Roberts earlier," Molly wondered why he would be meeting with the commander of all RAMC units in Sierra Leone but he continued, "You're off duty for the rest of the weekend. But you're ordered to report to his office at 11.00 on Monday." Molly didn't know what to say. She and Charles could spend the weekend together. As Molly gaped like a fish, Charles jumped in to help her out, "Thank you sir. It will be great to spend some time together." And Molly nodded, and finally managed to squeak out, "Thank you sir".

"Not at all, Charles, and remember – it's Roger – I'm not your boss any more." Then he looked quickly at Dangles before smiling again at Charles, "And while we're on the subject, let me say what an honour and a pleasure it was to serve with you again Major. I know your subordinates agree with me. I don't suppose there's any chance of persuading you back into uniform?"

As Charles confirmed that there was no chance the conversation moved on. Jackie, seeing that Molly was still a little stunned, leaned over, "Nice to have friends in high places, isn't it Mols? Just think, while I'm stuck there with the antiseptic wipes you can be relaxing on the beach with your husband!"

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

As Molly stood outside Lieutenant Colonel Roberts' office on Monday morning, clad in her camouflage utilities and looking like a proper soldier again, she reflected on a brilliant weekend. They had all had a bit too much to drink on Friday night and Dangles and Jackie had had to help the Colonel back to base. The last she remembered was hugging Charles after the others had left, but it transpired that after the Colonel had dropped his bombshell Charles had nipped out to reception and booked a room for them for the weekend. And not just any room, but a beautiful Deluxe Suite with lovely sea views. After she fell asleep at the end of the evening he had carried her up to it.

Of course, she hadn't known about this until she woke up the next morning with a horrific headache! He was still asleep, but woke up pretty quickly. That might have had something to do with her falling over him as she clambered out of bed to the toilet. In her defence, she hadn't known quite where she was and she was so used to sleeping in single army beds for the past few weeks that she hadn't even considered she might be in a double bed, although in retrospect the soft sheets might have given it away if she'd been concentrating and hadn't been dying to go to the loo! A point that he'd made quite strenuously!

It had got better after that though. They'd enjoyed a three course breakfast on their balcony and then he'd taken her over to the base to grab some clothes and then out shopping to buy a bikini, and they hadn't shifted from their beach towels, apart from to put on more suntan lotion and/or mosquito repellent, or to buy drinks, for most of the rest of the weekend. At night they'd concentrated on rediscovering each other physically and done quite a damn good job of it.

This morning they'd enjoyed a final breakfast, kissed each other goodbye and then gone about their business. As it happened, he had a meeting to go to as well, at the same time as hers. She hadn't asked what it was about and he hadn't volunteered. He was due to fly back tomorrow and she wasn't expecting to see him again until she was sent back to the UK, which hopefully wouldn't be more than another week or two.

She knocked on the door and heard the command to "Enter". She marched in, drew herself to attention and told her CO's CO, "Corporal Molly James, reporting as ordered, sir". She was quite surprised to see Colonel Beck in the office as well. Both Colonels smiled at her and Colonel Roberts told her to be at ease and then spoke to her, "So Corporal James, there are two reasons I asked for this meeting. Number one, was that I wanted to congratulate you on your performance in country since this crisis broke. I've received numerous reports from the Sierra Leone government, your contemporaries, superiors, The International Red Cross and even your subordinates, highlighting that your performance, both in medical care and leadership, was above and beyond what we would have any right to expect; initially when your unit was cut off, then at the minibus crash site and finally when you took on your detached duties."

She replied, "Thank you sir, but I was only doing my job."

"Yes, I was told you would say that. However, I believe that your work at Buluna was above and beyond the call of duty. I'd like you to know that I have submitted your name for a Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service and I fully expect it to be confirmed, as of the next Operational Honours and Awards announcement in March."

She was gobsmacked. "Thank you sir" was all she managed.

"No, thank _you_ Corporal James. Since you joined the RAMC your conduct has been absolutely exemplary and you've been a credit to the Corps.

"Which brings me onto my next reason for calling you here. I've been following your career for some time, both on official army business and outside – I am aware that you have worked with your husband when you have been on leave – and it's clear to me that you are under-utilised in your current role. Each of your previous operational COs has picked up on the fact that you are much more intelligent than you pass yourself off as, and your first CO, Captain James suggested that you have the ability to become an officer, although at the time he felt that you did not have the confidence for it. You have certainly demonstrated in recent months that you have both the competence and the confidence now and I wondered whether you had given any thought to becoming an Army officer?"

This time she was beyond gobsmacked. When she had walked in here this morning, she had had some thoughts on what this meeting might be about but this was as far away from those as it was possible to be. "Sir?" she stammered, "I don't– I mean– uh, no sir."

He looked at her in a benevolent manner, "Well, I think you should. Colonel Beck and I have discussed it at length, and I have talked with many of your previous COs. All agree that you would make a very able Army officer. You'll be going home within the next week. Please discuss it with your family over Christmas and New Year and, if you are keen, come and see me in January. We can get you over to AOSB and hopefully into the May intake for Sandhurst." He came around his desk and held out his hand to her, "Congratulations again Corporal James, and I look forward to seeing you in the New Year."

She shook his hand then came to attention, saluted and left the office. She stood on the other side of the door, desperately trying to compose herself.

"Molly" the most welcome voice in the world came from the wall next to her on her right. She swung round and there he was, leaning against the wall wearing his Red Cross gear, and smiling his patented half smile. She started towards him when he asked, "How did it go?"

Her welcoming smile transformed into a glare, "You knew?"

"Roger told me on Friday. But he swore me to secrecy."

Then another voice came from behind her, "It's true Corporal. I did, but I figured you would probably need someone to talk to afterwards, so I asked Charles if he could spare some time to join us for lunch and he agreed. Though it will NOT be a liquid lunch. I must be getting old; it took me most of the next day to get over that!"

She looked from one to the other, then smiled. "Thank you sir, I could do with a chat, even if it is with this idiot."

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

The three were enjoying their lunch in the mess tent when a loud two-tone warble cut across proceedings. "Shit!" exclaimed Charles, taking out his phone and turning apologetically to the Colonel, "sorry – I have to take this" and then he spoke into his phone, "James – Go ahead!" He immediately moved towards a relatively quiet area.

"Uh oh" said Molly quietly. Colonel Beck looked at her questioningly. "That's his emergency signal. That means he's likely to have an emergency international call-out." They proceeded to work on their meals, making small talk until Charles got back.

Molly looked at him questioningly, "Is it-?"

Charles gave a lopsided smile, "Yes, a typhoon in the Philippines. I have to get back to London as soon as possible, and then on from there. But the first flight out of Freetown isn't until late this evening."

Colonel Beck was already rising to his feet, "Come with me you two. There's an RAF supply flight this afternoon. Come back to my office and I'll see if I can get you on it."

The Colonel was as good as his word and within 30 minutes had arranged for Charles to get on an RAF flight to Northolt which was due to leave at 16.30. Then, waving away Charles' objections, he arranged for a chopper to pick Charles up in Freetown and transport him to the airport.

"Don't be silly Charles. You've done a great job for the Army while you've been here and we always do our best to help in disaster situations. Right, you've got three hours until the chopper picks you up. I guess you'd better go and get packed!" He grinned at Molly, "Corporal James – you are assigned as military liaison to Mr James. Stick to him like glue and make sure he gets on that flight later. I'll clear it with Colonel Roberts. Now clear off – both of you!" he stuck out his hand, "Good luck Charles, don't make it three years before we next see each other!"

With copious thanks they were off. They headed back to the hotel, but found that they had a spare hour after Charles had packed. Naturally they were able to find something to do with their time!

- OG - OG - OG - OG -

Molly James was just brushing her hair after the shower which followed her morning run when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it" called her Nan from downstairs. She had agreed to stay with Molly to keep her company when it became clear that Charles may not get back from the Philippines for several weeks. Molly loved their house and normally had no problems being on her own there. It was just that after getting back from Africa she had been looking forward to spending some quality time with her husband and his continued absence was grating. She had been spending the weekend with her family last week, and complained about Charles still being stuck in the Philippines when her Gran had offered to spend some time with her. She had been really grateful for the company as Charles' absence had dragged on for longer and longer.

It was now the 22nd of December and it was looking increasingly as if he wouldn't be able to get back by Christmas. They had talked five days ago, before he had left for a tour of Red Cross aid stations to assess the situation, but since then he had been quiet. She wasn't worried because he had asked Francois to send her a daily update and he had confirmed that everything was OK and Charles was working to get everything sorted so he could be back for Christmas. If no contact for a few days was the price of having Christmas with her husband, then she could handle that.

Charles' absence was even more deeply felt because she really needed his advice. She had been totally blindsided by her CO's invitation to apply for officer training. She knew that Charles had every confidence she would make a good officer, but she didn't know that anyone else shared his opinion. To find out that all her former COs believed that she had officer potential was mind blowing. But it was a big decision. She enjoyed being a Combat Medical Technician but she couldn't perform that role as an officer. She couldn't see herself becoming a doctor (with many years of additional training needed), so what role could she take as an officer in the RAMC? Also, would she fit in as an officer?

She was aware that the COs were right. The old Molly would have wondered whether she was good enough to be an officer. The new one didn't because she had the confidence now to know that she could function as an officer if she wanted to pursue that role. That's what four years and change in the Army (and the support of a brilliant husband) had given her – the confidence to know that she was good at what she did and she could do anything she set her heart on if she wanted to. But did she really want to be an officer? She enjoyed the easy acceptance and camaraderie of being an NCO. Would she still have that as an officer? Did officers have something similar? All of her friends were privates and NCOs and would becoming an officer impact those friendships? These were questions that she didn't have answers to that she would need to discuss with Charles.

"Mols!" came the shout from downstairs, "You need to sign for this package!" Grumbling to herself about being pulled away from her train of thought she quickly pulled on a pair of tracky bottoms, her slippers and a sweatshirt and headed downstairs. As she got onto the stairs she felt the icy draught from the open front door chill her. It had been a nasty shock getting back from the warmth of Freetown to this, one of the coldest Decembers in recent years.

She shuffled along to the front door where her Nan was standing, apparently talking to the delivery guy, and could just see through the half open door that the delivery man, who was wearing jeans and a blue shirt and jumper, had his back turned to her. It was strange; she couldn't remember ordering anything. Maybe someone was sending a present for her or Charlie. "Okay, okay, I'm coming," she grumbled, opening the front door, "Where's the package?" she asked, just as the "delivery man" swung round to face her and she was transfixed by a very familiar set of brown eyes.

"Looks like your Christmas pressie's 'ere. Go get 'im Mols!" cheered Nan as Molly closed the distance in no time at all and was drawn into a tight hug by her husband. They both held onto each other like they were drowning, and he lowered his forehead so it was against hers, desperate for that extra contact. She was vaguely aware of Nan telling them, "I'll leave ya to it" and heading inside.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, they drew back and looked at each other. She could see her love for him reflected back at her in his light brown eyes. Suddenly he grinned and went to speak, but she placed a finger on his lips to shush him, "Charles James, if you ask me if I've missed you, you'll be sleepin' on the sofa for the next week! Now just shut up and kiss me!" And so he did.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 1 AOSB stands for Army Officer Selection Board which is a three-four day course which must be passed before an officer candidate can go to Sandhurst. I considered having Molly promoted to sergeant, but she is already pushing the envelope as a corporal at her age, and it's unrealistic that she would be promoted to sergeant with only four years of service. From my research it seems that six years is the minimum, while 8-10 years is the average. In my mind it's not certain that Molly would go for officer training. The key question for her would be what she would do as an officer in RAMC? Molly's role as a Combat Medical Technician is not available to officers although some nurses are officers and there is also the role of Medical Support Officer that she could do. It would mean a fairly significant change of role for her though and you have to wonder whether this is something she would enjoy…**

**A/N 2 I'm uploading the final part of this instead of the third chapter of Road Not Taken because I'm having a bit of writer's block with that one. Please bear with me – I did warn you that my update schedule would be slower than on Captain's Log.**

**A/N 3 Hope you enjoyed this. Please leave a review if you did!**


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